Pan-Roasted Chicken with Harissa Chickpeas

Harissa is a great shortcut ingredient to flavor, but no two jars (or tubes) are the same. Taste first—if it seems very spicy, use a bit less. You can always stir more into the chickpeas when the dish is finished.

Ingredient info:Harissa, a spicy North African red chile paste, is available at Middle Eastern markets, some specialty foods stores, and online.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in 2 batches, cook until browned, about 5 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from pan. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until beginning to darken, about 1 minute. Add chickpeas, harissa, and broth; bring to a simmer.

Nestle chicken, skin side up, in chickpeas; transfer skillet to oven. Roast until chicken is cooked through, 20–25 minutes. Top with parsley and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

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Reviews

I really wanted to like this dish. I like all the components parts. In my opinion it just didn’t come together. It lacked depth or complexity. It was just hot from the harissa paste. The only change I made was to add cauliflower as some others had suggested. In terms of the heat, chick peas and cauliflower held most of the heat as others noted. It was too spicy for one of my kids to enjoy; you might cut back if cooking for kids (even those that normally like heat).

I was actually pleased on how well this dish turned out. I didn’t have any Harissa so I substituted with Sambal Oelek chili paste. The spice was very subtle yet easy to prepare and tasted very delicious. Will be making this dish again.

I love this recipe! I always return to it when I've been away traveling for work and want get back into cooking. I've made this recipe for friends and it's always a hit. I like to cut this recipe in half since I'm usually cooking for 1 or 2 people.
Wanted to share that if your grocer doesn't carry harissa (Trader Joe's sometimes doesn't carry it for me), you can also substitute the harissa paste with the same amount of chili paste (sambal oelek or garlic chili patste) with sprinkles of coriander and cumin. General rule of thumb is: for every cup of chili paste add 1/4 teaspoon of coriander and cumin. Since I halve the recipe, I eyeball the amount of coriander and cumin I add to the chili paste.

Pretty easy. Definitely had kick to it. That said, I accidentally put in double the tomato paste, so I then threw in a little extra broth and harissa, so may have had more kick than as written. For my group that was fine, more went than I expected, but I would not recommend if you are serving anyone that doesn't like spicy food. I only have a small piece of chicken and a fair bit of the chickpeas. I think they will make good leftovers alone with leftover brown rice.

Truly excellent recipe. Very nice blend of flavours. Easy and fast to make. Suggest not getting canned Harisa since cans are hard to store if you don't use all of it. One my local mideast shops had Harrisa in a squeeze tube. Don't forget to use the lemon wedges. They add a nice burst of flavour to the dish.

This fairly simple recipes has amazing flavors and is good for a crowd. I added much more chicken stock than called for and served it with couscous that I beefed up with sauteed red onion, slivered almonds, sliced dried apricots and lemon zest. Harissa is great for soups as well and I've stocked up with tubes of it from the deli. You know it's a success when even the non-cooks want the recipe. But it is on the mid to high range in spiciness--great for winter.

This is incredible! Even my hubby raved about it. Can't find Harissa, so used a garlic chili paste from the grocery Asian section. Also added a splash of white wine to the sauce before oven roasting. Started oven at 425 for about 20 minutes, but seemed to be drying out, so reduced temp to 350 for 30 to 45 more minutes. Chicken skin came out crispy, the thighs juicy and very tender. Didn't have fresh parsley so skipped it. Served over brown jasmine rice. Nicely spicy, tangy, and super yummy! May up the chili paste next time for extra heat, since we love spicy. Will definitely make again.

Absolutely delicious. My husband loved it. So easy. First time trying harissa. Out of the jar, mine is quite fiery, so I added less than called for. But it dissipated some in the cooking, so next time I will add more. I was going to add cauliflower, per suggestions, but noticed I had a sweet potato that wasn't getting any younger, so I peeled it and cut into 1/2 inch cubes and added that. Perfect! I served the dish with a green salad with fresh oranges, red onion, a little bit of shredded purple cabbage, and pistachios. Very colorful, and it went with the chicken dish very well.

I just made this dish over the weekend and it was a huge success!! I used skinless, boneless chicken thighs, one can chickpeas, twice the amount of harissa, a little extra of the tomato paste, and the rest of the recipe as instructed. I served it over couscous with a slice of lemon, it turned out spicy and delicious! I will definitely save this recipe for the future.

Very tasty, spicy and simple to make. I used dried tomatoes instead of tomato paste. Longer browning of the chicken adds additional flavor. And just plop the pan into the oven. Serve over brown rice with roasted veg.

Delicious! Used boneless skinless chicken thighs, pulled big pieces out of pan once nicely browned, left little browned chicken bits in pan & cooked onion & garlic. Once onion was soft, added 2 heaping tablespoons of tomato paste to pan & cooked like a roux to deepen the flavor. Added some stock to deglaze the pan.
Added browned chicken & juices back to pan along with chickpeas & 1/2 head of cauliflower. Added a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, a handful of chopped green olives & more stock (1.5 to 2 cups total stock). Put a lid on pan & simmered to let flavors combine, stirring occasionally (did not use oven). After about 5 min of simmering, added the Harissa. Mine was pretty hot & I have kids. Adding 1 spoonful at a time, stirring then tasting the broth, I added about 2 Tablespoons Harissa in total. Put the lid back on & continued to cook till cauliflower was soft.
Wow - the chicken was falling apart & taking on the flavors of the sauce & the green olives were like little salty-briney bursts of flavor.
Served over rice with a dollop of plain yogurt on top. Passed extra Harissa for adults & lemon wedges. Amazingly good!!!

So other than accidentally opening a can of lentils instead of chickpeas, I followed this recipe exactly. I made my own homemade Harissa with it as I could not find any in the nearby grocery store. I can't believe how good it is. It must be one of the best things I've made. Definitely going to keep this one. I might actually keep the lentils, too, since the texture was so nice with the sauce. Happy accident!

This was very good for an easy weeknight dinner. Used leftover homemade harissa which was so tasty. I would increase the onions, harissa, and tomato paste for more flavor. Will be in our future regular rotation.

I've made this at least 10 times now, it's delicious and easy. Be sure to brown the thighs well - you want the skin crispy. Each batch of harissa is different, so taste a little beforehand - sometimes you'll need yogurt on the side to counter the heat. Also, I prefer to add about 50% more chickpeas (you tend to run out, otherwise), and cook this in a dutch oven rather than a skillet. It's great as leftovers too, and tends to get spicier the next day.

Delicious! Recipe serves more like 6-8 people. I like sauce, so used 1/2 of little can of tomato paste & about 1 1/2 c stock. Threw in 1/2 head of cauliflower, per other reviews. Can't wait to try the leftovers tomorrow!

Regarding recipes that give cooking times: those are guidelines. You cook food until it reaches the degree of doneness that is to your liking or food safe. If a recipe says, "brown for 5 minutes," and after 5 minutes your food is not as brown as you think it should be...keep browning. Your pan, your oven, your oil...so many things go in to the equation. Recipes, with the exception of those for baking (BIG exception) are guidelines, not strict rules. Also, regarding weight, where I shop, a full chicken breast, without bones or skin, can weigh up so 1 1/2 pounds. The weight of any piece of meat (or single vegetable) can vary greatly. Again...common sense, following a recipe as a guideline, works every time. I made this chicken recipe, added some kale at the end, just to wilt, and thought it was pretty darned good. Making your own Harissa (as hot/mild as you like it) and chick peas (with more flavoring to begin with) would only make it better.

Excellent recipe, just as delicious with skinless chicken breast. Brown them very well--it really deepens the flavor. Served with roasted Romanesco broccoli on the side. Everyone had seconds and raved about the flavors.

It's great! I did it once as is, once added canned artichokes & fresh spinach, once some cauliflower. Tonight I just sprinkled it with mint, cilantro & served with simple yogurt sauce & naan bread! Can't loose with this one - cheap, fast & delicious!

Delicious recipe! So much flavor from the harissa, onions, and garlic, and easy cleanup since it's all in one pan. I added diced carrots and used water instead of broth, but otherwise followed the recipe. Will absolutely make again.